Title: The Raven Boys [Goodreads Link]
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Synopsis: Blue Sargent, the daughter of the town psychic in Henrietta, Virginia, has been told for as long as she can remember that if she ever kisses her true love, he will die. But she is too practical to believe in things like true love. Her policy is to stay away from the rich boys at the prestigious Aglionby Academy. The boys there — known as Raven Boys — can only mean trouble.
Review:
The Raven Boys was a book that surprised me in the best way. I previously read Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater and it just wasn't my cup of tea, but I was still hoping this book would be worth a chance since it's been given so much hype. And boy, am I glad it was! Now, I don't think this was a perfect book. There were definitely things that could have been done better and I wouldn't say it's going to appeal to everyone, but there's a lot to like in it.
Stiefvater's way with words is honestly beautiful. If you can take anything away from her books, its her way to craft the English language (and hopefully it translates well, too!). The Raven Boys has a very distinct atmosphere and I think that it is very much underpinned by the writing. Also, the book showcases some fantastic characters. All of them felt so genuine and well-developed and carry the story really well.
What brought my rating down were two things: the story does lull at points and the plot isn't quite as fleshed out as I wanted. The story is unique and interesting but it does moves quite slowly, particularly in the first half. Most of the time, I was okay with this and thought it played into the atmosphere of the novel, but sometimes it got just a bit too slow. Also, the plot leaves a few gaps that I wished it hadn't and didn't provide some information that I think it should have. The stronger elements of the book make up for some of these faults but they still lessened my enjoyment at points.
All in all, I think The Raven Boys was a good novel. If you haven't read the book because you think the synopsis doesn't sound like your thing, I haven't seen one synopsis do the book justice. I would recommend people give it a chance, especially if you enjoy character-driven and/or atmospheric fantasy - this is right up your lane! It's strange and mysterious and at the end, leaves you wanting more. I know that I basically dived straight into book two, The Dream Thieves! Keep an eye out for a review of that one in the near future!
Let me know down in the comments any of your thoughts and opinions on The Raven Boys if you've read it!
Until next time!
Jess, xxx
No comments:
Post a Comment